


Broken

by TheCrazyFriend



Series: Out of Time [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-08 03:10:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16421258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrazyFriend/pseuds/TheCrazyFriend





	Broken

** Monday 20th June 1988 **

“Rainbow. Kali. Mike. Eggos. Dad. Home. Maxxie. Girlfriend. Love.”  
“Shit, dad. Let's go through this one last time. You say you've seen this before?”  
“Mmhmm" the man nodded, looking helplessly at the girl who was mumbling away to herself. “Terry Ives, her brain was fried by electroshock therapy"  
“Is that what they did to...” She bit off a choked sob  
“No, I don't think so. Closer investigations of Terry Ives revealed burn marks on her head from where the electrodes were held against her head, she doesn't have any such wounds” he indicated the young woman led helplessly in the bed that had been prepared for her  
“Oh Elli, what did they do to you?”

** Saturday 14th May 1988 **

“Good morning, dad"  
“Eliza”  
“Coffee?” The bleached blonde held out her mug, dropping a bottle from the previous night into the sink to be rinsed out after breakfast  
The man's frown at the bottle turned into a reluctant smile, “sure. Though you should stop drinking that stuff.” He poured out a steaming mug of coffee from one of several coffee jugs, all bar that one being empty save a few drops of lukewarm coffee in the bottom, indicating that the man had drunk his way through two whole jugs of coffee  
“Coming from you...” the young woman scolded  
“Touche”  
“C would always know what to say to cheer me up" Eliza mumbled, “that or B's stupidly enthusiastic enthusiasm would make me cringe smile"  
“I know Eliza, you miss them like I miss J"  
“Why the hell do you insist on its only using the first letters of their nicknames?!” She exclaimed, “it's not like anyone knows we're here, we pretty much died that day, vanished off the face of the earth never to be seen again"  
“I know, Eliza"  
“And it would be nice to hear my real name once in a while"  
“Fine, but I thought you hated your real name?”  
“ _She_ said she loved it. Feels like the only part of _her_ I've been able to keep"  
“Fine, but we cannot slip up while we're not indoors"  
“I do see you routinely check this place for bugs when we wake up in the morning and after we get back if we go out"  
“Can't be too careful, Max”  
The bleached blonde teared up, “sure, Hop"  
“You know I think I prefer dad”  
“Sure, _dad_ "  
“Drink your coffee up I think we've done enough contemplation for one day" he smiled and served up breakfast to prepare them both for the day ahead, he knew it was going to be an exceptionally long one for her, as was every single day while they waited effectively in limbo. His day would be shorter but equally as tiring, he would be leaving town to do some stuff he said he had to do for work, she had another full day at the diner she worked at. _Can it really be her, it's been nearly two years_

** Monday 23rd May 1988 **

“Good morning...” Max paused at all the paperwork spread across the table, she recognized some of them, maps of Hawkins and of Chicago, as well as one of Indianapolis which she only knew from the name printed across the top of the map. “Something going on?”  
“Max, we need to talk”  
Max dropped three bottles into the sink then grabbed her morning coffee, groaning slightly under the bright light Hopper was using to illuminate the table, “then let's talk. I've gotta go to work today remember?”  
“You might want to call in sick"  
“Oh sure... what?!” Max looked up at Hopper in surprise  
“You heard me"  
“I swear if you've booked me one more Alcoholics Anonymous meeting I'm gonna grab your gun and shoot you in the ass"  
“No, Max... I've found something”  
“You've... found... something?”  
Hopper started the VHS recorder he had set up to record the news every evening so he could watch it and it played the news report. “I'm standing in what used to be the infamous Hawkins National Laboratory that caused the deaths of several people in 1983, the only survivor found in the remnants of the lab was a girl who was about seventeen years old having seemingly been abandoned. She has been taken for assessment at Central State Hospital in Indianapolis while investigators attempt to piece together what has happened.”  
“When was this news report, Hop?”  
“The Friday before last"  
“OVER A WEEK AGO?!” Max all but screamed, “YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!”  
“Max, please, we couldn't do anything until today anyway"  
“Could've told me”  
“Then you wouldn't have slept for over a week. I would've had to not let you take part in anything today"  
“What's happening today?”  
“We are gonna rescue her"  
“We are?”  
“Yup. I've been planning and scouting the whole week"  
“I'm gonna see Elli again?!”  
“Yeah! Though we don't have any idea what state she'll be in when we find her"  
“What do you mean?”  
“They could've hurt her, Max”  
“Those fuckers had better not have hurt her!”  
“We'll help her, Max”  
“Promise, dad?”  
“I promise" Hopper smiled at Max and pulled her into a hug

A few hours later Hopper and Max were ready to leave their house and get back on the road. Max jumped in Hopper's truck and started it up while Hopper loaded up the trunk to get ready to go. “Ready to go, Eliza?”  
“Mhm, dad, I'm ready"  
“Let's go get her, Eliza” Hopper smiled at her  
Hopper moved off in the truck and they settled down for the long drive to Indianapolis  
“There it is, dad!” Max pointed at Indianapolis in the distance. It had been an incredibly long drive but neither of them felt tired  
“Yes, Eliza" Hopper smiled at her and pressed on the throttle  
“Where is she?”  
“The girl found in the Lab was transferred to a hospital called Central State Hospital here in Indianapolis"  
“It is her isn't it?”  
“I don't know, that's why we're here to find out"

Hopper led Max into the building he had pulled up outside. “Good morning, sir, how may I help you today?”  
“We would like to inquire about one of your patients”  
“Yes, sir?”  
“The girl found a few days ago, does she have a tattoo on her wrist, the number eleven, zero one one? If yes, I'm her father, Adrian”  
“You are are you?”  
“Yes, we were separated a few weeks ago and we've been looking for her ever since. Her father, my ex’s ex must've kidnapped her”  
“She's not really able to take any visitors currently, she's... sick"  
“What do you mean, she's sick!?!” Max has shrieked at the receptionist  
“Sorry, that's my other daughter, Janine” Hopper sighed, “She's very protective of her step-sister”  
“That's okay, Janine, I understand”  
“Can we go see her, just for five minutes?”  
The receptionist thought for a few moments then nodded, leaving her work neatly piled up she led Hopper and Max through several locked doors and on to one of many wards. “Here she is"  
“Holy hell!” Hopper had exclaimed quietly, pulling Max out of the room before she could see the woman in the bed  
“Hey!!” Max yelped as Hopper dragged her away from the ward, the confused receptionist’s calls echoing but falling on deaf ears  
“What the fuck was all that about!!”  
“You don't wanna know"  
“Yes I do wanna fucking know!!”  
Hopper pointed at his truck, a stern look on his face. “In. Home. Alcohol. Discuss, preferably in that order"  
“Fine, dad"

Hopper raced home, using the crossing point they always used to cross from America to Canada and was even more thorough in his checking of the car before he drove to the sleepy little village that served as their home and more thorough when he checked for bugs once they arrived at their home. Soon the checks were complete and the external window shutters were closed concealing the roller shutters that added extra security to their house. Max settled down by their electric heaters with a beer and turned to look at Hopper, the house had originally come with a fireplace and a chimney but Hopper had sealed it with concrete when they first moved into their new house. “Now... tell me what the fuck that was about!” Hopper had just disconnected their phone while Max made sure everything was locked.  
“Max, I'm so so sorry"  
“About... oh my fucking god!! It was her wasn't it?!” Hopper merely nodded slightly. Max just sat there, tears pouring down her face. _She was just led there!!_ “Dad, what the fuck are we gonna do?!” _I'm gonna need a fucking six pack!!_  
“We're gonna get her out of there, Max”  
“But she didn't even look over at us"  
“Maybe she didn't realize we were there?” Hopper suggested  
“Mmhm maybe"  
_I'm gonna protect you from the truth for as long as I can, Max_  
“Dad, we gotta get her out of there!”  
“I know, Max, we ought to prepare the spare room for her"  
“Yeah... a three bedroom house was the right decision.” Hopper had of course seen Jane's condition once before, he didn't dare tell Max as she would probably break down and never be able to help Hopper break Jane out of the psychiatric hospital  
“Come on then let's build that bed, though I'm gonna need something stronger than beer to get me through this!"

Six hours after they began putting the bed together they were still struggling to put it together, at least slightly impaired by the vodka they had chugged, a gift from an old friend of Hopper's. “Shit" Max growled and threw down the screwdriver she had been using. “We can't get her out of there until we finish this fucking bed"  
“I know, Max”  
“Ah!” She cried, grabbing the piece that they hadn't been able to find. “Let's get this fucker finished!!”

An hour later they had finished the bed and had placed the mattress and about thirty blankets all on the frame. “Finally!” Max then turned to the cans of paint, “are you sure she'll like this color?” Hopper nodded and opened the cans so they could begin painting the walls the gently soothing pink.  
“I'll do these sunflowers and rainbow, you do the rest of the wall” Max nodded and started painting having first changed into some old clothes. Months on the run had quickly worn out what clothes Max had left Hawkins with and Hopper had used some of the savings he had put aside to buy his daughter a new wardrobe though Max had decided to keep her old clothes for sentimental reasons. “Have you been able to check up on my family?” Max asked  
Hopper shook his head, “sorry, kid"  
“I understand, I just wish I hadn't had to leave Billy like that, he was a dick but he doesn't deserve whatever Neil has done to him"  
“Flo and the others would've worked it out eventually" Hopper reassured, “Neil would've gone to jail"  
Max sighed, “I wonder what they made her do for the past two years?”  
“I have no idea, probably hundreds of awful things... wonder if Kali and her gang have killed Brenner yet?”  
“Not a clue, haven't heard from them, or Wheeler for that matter”  
“The Party has been torn apart"  
“Yes, dad, it has" Max looked glumly at the blind that hid the window and its ugly roller shutter. “Alaska is so dull”  
“We came here to have a quiet life, Max”  
“I know, dad. But we gotta get her outta there"  
“Then let's get going" Hopper opened a hidden hatch to a basement and lowered Max through it. “Know what to get?”  
“Sure. Bags one, two and three, correct?”  
“Yup. Bag one contains spare clothes, bag two contains essentials like cooking supplies and tents and three contains everything we need to break in”  
“Bag four too?”  
“Can't be too careful"  
“Alright,” Max passed the four bags of supplies up to Hopper and opened a weapons case. “Machine gun" she threw it up to him, “mags" she threw those up. “And shotgun” she threw it and boxes of shells up to Hopper  
Hopper laughed and stored the weapons in the fourth bag. “That's all we’ll need, now go to the safe and pull out a couple grand, in different sized notes"  
“Sure, dad, our fake passports too?”  
“Nah, we don't need those"  
Max nodded, clambering back up and shutting the basement hatch. “I'll load these up in the truck" she took two of the bags and Hopper grabbed the other two. 

“Right we take it in turns, one drives while the other sleeps." They had pulled out of their sleepy little town and were settling down for the long drive back to Indiana. “We stop just outside Indiana, rent a car" Hopper continued outlining their plan, “and find a place to rest, the morning after...”  
“We go rescue El!”  
“Precisely"  
“Go to sleep, Eliza"  
“Night, dad"

Sixty-eight hours later Max prodded Hopper, “welcome to the state of Indiana"  
“Mmhmm” Hopper opened the glove compartment and removed a gun, “From now on we're in hostile territory"  
“I understand, dad.”  
“I'm Adrian and you're Janine, our passports for those names are in bag one"  
“I understand" Max pointed out the first motel she saw and Hopper got them rooms. “Here's to our last comfortable night for the next week" Max grumbled lightheartedly  
“Ho hum"

Max woke at half nine the following evening, Hopper was already stood at the coffee maker and was pouring both of them a mug of strong black coffee. “Well, fuuuuck"  
“Drink this" Hopper slapped the coffee down on the table, “And we'll sneak out the emergency exit, I've already taken the alarm out of action"  
“Can I kill Brenner if we see him?”  
“I did bring several guns"  
Max placed her coffee down on the table. “Come on, enough contemplation, it's time for our rescue!!”  
Max took the final shift while Hopper focused on the maps, soon enough they were driving down a familiar street to where the familiar building stood. “Let's do this"

Hopper pulled a black balaclava over his head while Max did the same. “We aren't gonna bother going through official channels" Hopper smirked while using the wire cutter to cut an access to the back of the hospital. They both ran to the outside of the building and shot a security camera that watched the service door to the hospital with a silenced handgun. “We are on the basement level" Hopper began  
“So, up one level to the first floor then find our way back to ward fifteen, bed A"  
“That's correct, Eliza" Hopper smirked, excited to finally see his daughter. “Come on you" Hopper shot the lock and opened the door to the hospital  
Max poked her head into the hospital and nodded, “all clear"  
“I think it's a good idea to get going quickly" hopper led Max down the corridor to a stairwell, “up one level to the first floor" Hopper reminded her, “then turn left twice and we should be where Eleanor is, right outside ward fifteen"  
Max nodded and ran up the stairs, she crept along to the door the silenced pistol in her hand in case she saw anyone. The corridor was clear and Max dropped down to her hands and knees to pass by the nurse's station towards the ward, Hopper stayed in the stairwell. Max reached the ward and crawled in behind several nurses who were gathered around the bed at the nearest end of the ward. “Shit" she mumbled, having looked at the bed letters. The three nurses were gathered around bed A. “Oh fuck" Max leaped under the opposite bed and hid while the nurses were busy checking the woman in the bed. 

“You say she's been saying this same phrase ever since she arrived here?” One of the nurses asked another  
“Yeah, Florence, she has been repeating that phrase ever since she was found in that lab, ‘Rainbow. Kali. Mike. Eggos. Dad. Home. Maxxie. Girlfriend. Love’. I don't know what that means and I don't know what's wrong with her or why she keeps repeating those words"  
“Oh Elli, what the hell did that fucking bastard do to you!?” Max knew from those words that it was indeed Jane, her girlfriend  
Jane led where she was, immobile and still mumbling as the nurses checked her blood pressure and pulse. “Still stable" one of the nurses shrugged then left her alone.  
“Shit. Janine to Adrian, I need your help" Max looked around the dreary looking white-walled ward  
“Understood, I'm coming" he commando crawled to the ward and joined Max in the ward to help her. “We will have to lower her out the window,” Hopper whispered, wiping his eyes furiously attempting to dispel the tears streaming down his face. He knew that Jane wouldn't be able to help them get her out of the ward and as a result, they wouldn't be able to get her past the nurses outside the room  
“Right" Max nodded  
“Max help me set this up then go downstairs and stand beneath the window"  
“Yes, dad" Max nodded, “Let's get this set up"

Max and Hopper struggled for a few moments but managed to finish setting the makeshift hoist up with the stuff they had in their bags. Hopper and Max quickly slung a makeshift harness around Jane to keep her safe. “Right off you go"  
Max nodded, crawling out of the door and five minutes later she whistled to indicate she was below the window. Hopper swung Jane out of the window and slowly lowered her to Max's waiting arms. “El" Max whispered but was suddenly distracted by gunfire from somewhere above her. “Shit, dad!!” Max squealed in fear. She knew her mission though, Hopper had ordered her to get Jane out of there should anything go wrong. Max carried Jane out to the truck and loaded her up, securing her.  
“Rainbow. Kali. Mike. Eggos. Dad. Home. Maxxie. Girlfriend. Love”  
“Shit” Max had just finished strapping Jane in securely, she looked over her shoulder and saw Hopper running towards the fence  
“Let's go!!” He bellowed  
Max jumped in the driver's side and started the truck. She started driving away from the hospital at a steady pace regardless of the sirens behind them. 

** Monday 14th December 1987 **

“Doctor Brenner”  
“Yes, Doctor Evans?”  
“Eleven is still unresponsive, Doctor Brenner”  
“Is she?”  
“Yup"  
“What did that girl do to herself?!” Brenner was incredibly maddened by how close he had come to getting Eleven back only to lose her to whatever she had done to her mind. “Try whatever treatment you need to do to get her back!”  
Another man ran in, “Doctors Brenner and Evans, that band of outlaws have somehow found us.”  
“Move Eleven back to the lab in Hawkins, you have operational control over the project. Eleven has to be treated, I've gotta head those outlaws off”  
Brenner left the room and headed to the local diner, attempting to draw out Kali's gang. 

** Tuesday 10th May 1988 **

It was a number of months before Kali's gang located Brenner, Doctor Evans had gotten fed up with trying everything he could to fix Eleven's mind and had abandoned her in Hawkins National Laboratory. Brenner was sitting in his pristine office when the glass shattered, instinctively Brenner dropped to the floor behind his desk  
“Brenner." Kali moved into the office with her assorted gang members behind her  
“Ah, Eight" Brenner stood and clasped his hands behind his back. “Welcome back”  
“Where is my sister?” Kali asked sternly, “and for the record, my name is KALI!!”  
“Not here" he replied, “I retired from MKUltra, _Eight_ "  
“Sure you did" a male stepped forward derision in his tone, his hair was buzzed and Brenner noticed that the boy who was around Eleven's age. Brenner's eyes fell on his wrist where there was a tattoo similar to Eleven's.  
“You're not Eleven” Brenner stated the fact  
“Nope," the male set eyes that were ablaze with a cold fury upon the man with emotionless empty eyes. “My name is Paladin"  
“Paladin?” Brenner couldn't help it, he snorted with derisive laughter. “Paladin?”  
“Yup"  
Brenner connected the dots almost instantly, “the Wheeler boy"  
“That's me" he had a gun in his hand and was pointing it at the man's face, it was not shaking as Brenner had expected. Clearly, he had killed before  
“That gun will kill me"  
“Yup. That's kinda the whole point of pointing it at your fucking head"  
“You are not a killer"  
“Yes, I am. For El. Now, where. Is. She!?”  
“I don't know. As I said I handed control of the project over to someone else"  
“Who!?”  
“I don't know"  
“Liar!”  
“You're right" Brenner admitted with a nod. “Your girlfriend, Eleven... should be dead by now. She was a failure after all. She destroyed her own mind, like mother like daughter I guess, they both ended up the same"  
Mike screamed in pain and anguish and pulled the trigger. The hammer slammed into the bullet, igniting the charge within it and propelling it out of the gun. There was a sudden loud bang and a splatter of red across the wall. Suddenly Mike and Kali both had a view of the inside of Brenner's head as he keeled over to one side. “Mike" Kali soothed, “Mike it's over, Brenner can't hurt any more kids"


End file.
